Sight that holds zero

stan_wa

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We have a whole sub form located to rifle scope testing, But i don't see a thread archery sight holding zero. I suspect my sight does not hold zero very well. I have been noticing that im chasing groups left and right over time. So I ran a brief test that did confirm my suspicion if I "bend" the sight left to right, i can get a shift. Im talking like 10 lbs of force just to simulate getting bagged around in the woods. Visually looking at my sight ( hha optomiser lite- https://www.hhasports.com/optimizer-lite-x/) it doesn't look to very strong to resist this kind of motion. A quick 7 shot test before and after confirmed what I have been seeing

first picture is the zeroed group
IMG_5425.jpeg
2nd picture is with the sight impacted to the (shooters) leftIMG_5424.jpeg

Are sights losing zero a know problem?
Are some makes or models more robust?
 

archp625

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My guess it's not a sight issue. I bet it's how you are gripping the bow each time you shoot. All bow risers flex, minus maybe a Hoyt riser. if you have different grips its adding pressure in different places when the shot goes off causing a POI change.
 

IdahoBeav

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I'm not sure "hold zero" is the right term. The only thing on the sight that could cause an issue like this is if the screws are rattling loose. I've never had this happen, but I suppose you could Loctite it and re-torque. The only times (and it was very rare) I have had a bow "lose zero", it was an issue with the arrow rest or knock points slipping.
 
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For me when I notice a POI shift, it is usually my fault and not the sight. Changes in how I grip the bow, torque in my wrist, etc. If I consistently hit off, lets say low left, I just walk away and come back the next day and try again. If I repeat the same low left POI then I start looking at the equipment but its rarely the sight, usually rest, nock point, or peep.
 
OP
stan_wa

stan_wa

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so with this sight I can feel the sight flex a bit when force is applied to and im able to get a shift in POI. I agree hold zero is not the ideal term but i think most will understand the idea of that phrase.

My guess it's not a sight issue. I bet it's how you are gripping the bow each time you shoot. All bow risers flex, minus maybe a Hoyt riser. if you have different grips its adding pressure in different places when the shot goes off causing a POI change.
these two groups were shot back to back no changes,
screws are rattling loose
all the screw are tight the i just think this sight might not be very "robust as i can feel it flex under load" there is set screw for axis adjustment that is just a pointed screw pressing into a alum face and i think that connections is not very rigid.

Maybe most sights are good and there is no problem generally and the HHA tetra light are just a poor design.
 

archp625

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so with this sight I can feel the sight flex a bit when force is applied to and im able to get a shift in POI. I agree hold zero is not the ideal term but i think most will understand the idea of that phrase.


these two groups were shot back to back no changes,

all the screw are tight the i just think this sight might not be very "robust as i can feel it flex under load" there is set screw for axis adjustment that is just a pointed screw pressing into a alum face and i think that connections is not very rigid.

Maybe most sights are good and there is no problem generally and the HHA tetra light are just a poor design.
You cannot tell me that in between shots you didn’t have to re grip the bow. It’s your grip or wrist torque. One day you were doing one thing the next you were doing something else.
 
OP
stan_wa

stan_wa

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i would think that but I just showed that flexing the sight moved impacts which is what got me concerned i could re test but i was grouping centered, flex the sight left poi moved right. Flexed it back to the right and poi came back to center. I could test again a but thats a pretty strong signal to me


so maybe i just apply a force to the right on occasion to keep it settled in the correct location.
 
OP
stan_wa

stan_wa

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You cannot tell me that in between shots you didn’t have to re grip the bow. It’s your grip or wrist torque. One day you were doing one thing the next you were doing something else.
I thought that was the case until I ran this test in my OP in the yard and saw the affect. which is why I got worried about the sight
 

TheTone

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So you’re actually bending the sight? My opinion is your bigger problem will be stress cracks you can’t see that may be a bigger failure concern

Been now hunting for over 20 years and I’ve never dropped my bow with enough force I worried about anything failing
 
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Spot hogg is as robust as it gets. I switched s couple years ago when I started thinking about how the drop tests apply to archery.
 

dkime

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“Things that are a nonissue for 200$, Alex”

In all reality I’ve dropped one bow from a treestand that bent a sight bar, 15’ drop maybe. Shot a leaf, got a new zero, killed a deer. Run a robust sight and you’ll have no issue. The only time this is a problem is with sight that don’t run normal tapes and you run sight scales instead *Cough Axcel*


But if you want to talk about stabilizers that hold zero then that may be a different story…..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Ice-kub

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Seems odd, if you moved the sight to the right (hit it on the left side), shouldn't those arrows land left of the bullseyes?
 
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Torque tune.


It should almost completely go away.


I can Torque the shit out of my bows and at 40 yards it only changes 1-1.5".


Or I'm completely missing the question or you have a complete pos sight.
 
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I’m confused but I've done everything to my spot hoggs minus driving tent stakes with them and they have never let me down.
I did just send a Fast Eddie back because the dial was getting pretty rough after 6 years of borderline abuse and neglect. They had it back to me in 5 days, replaced all internals and cleaned it up, no charge.
 

3forks

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To the OP, as others have mentioned, it’s almost certainly a grip and form issue that’s creating your issue.

You could tape a matchstick to your riser to use as a sight and shoot good groups if you can grip the bow and execute your shot process the same way every single time.
 

sndmn11

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I have had a carbon bow and know two others who have had carbon bows of various mfg where the sight plate has gotten loose.

I would think that if a sight slipped on any one of the many adjustments, it would be a permanent thing rather than a back and forth thing. The only back and forth I could see would be if it had a dovetail windage that was loose and the sight would hang forward and backward causing up/down variance.
 

archp625

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To the OP, as others have mentioned, it’s almost certainly a grip and form issue that’s creating your issue.

You could tape a matchstick to your riser to use as a sight and shoot good groups if you can grip the bow and execute your shot process the same way every single time.
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. The OP doesn't want to believe any of us that it's his grip.
 

Lowedown

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OP. Although others make a good point that this is most often a form issue, there does come a point where you need to trust yourself, and find the problem in your equipment. I'd say if you are doing these tests during one shooting session, after you are already warmed up, and the only changing variable is your tweaking on the sight..... then it is probably the sight. I have seen sights fail.
Also as others have pointed out.... Spot Hogg sights are as robust as it gets. They are all I run now. They are well designed, quality machined, have fantastic fit and finish, and backed by great customer service.
I have used mine to hunt, and to shoot in the largest tournaments in the western US where they have always proven dependable!
A large part of shooting is confidence, if you aren't finding that in your current site then find it in another.
 
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